_When Nintendo first unveiled the Wii six years ago, the idea of motion-based gameplay was both an ambitious and risky idea for a company looking to get back on top. Despite its potential (and resounding success), the Wii’s use of motion gaming has been hit or miss during its current life cycle. Small flashes of motion gaming brilliance such as Wii Sports, World of Goo, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption offered what to expect, yet tacked-on experiences dominated the Wii’s landscape. The word gimmick was not that hard to apply for Nintendo’s so-called revolutionary console; however, all it takes is one game to make good on Nintendo’s promise in 2005. That game being The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

The latest iteration in the long-standing Zelda series, Skyward Sword, is the cultivation of five years of hard work and how motion gaming can be something other than gimmicky. Throughout my 30-plus hour experience, Nintendo was able to bring in the best aspects of Zelda, be it dungeon design, visuals, characters, gameplay, atmosphere, music, and even intriguing puzzles. This, along with the main development focus of Wii MotionPlus, separates Skyward Sword from its predecessors by making the entire adventure it a worthy challenger to the timeless Ocarina of Time.

There seems to be a few games that I get excited for, and even fewer that I go to my friends and tell them that they need to get it so we can play together. The last time this happened, Medal of Honor let me down immensely but with Brink I hope this would change. The amount of customization in the characters and within the firefights had me intrigued beyond belief, but then I saw all the reviews it was getting. Hit the break to read the rest of my own Brink review.

Much to the anticipation of button mashers and arcade masters around the world, Capcom released the third iteration of their legendary fighting series, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.Long story short, this game doesn’t pull any punches.

This game had some big shoes to fill. Coming on the heels of MvC2, a game that spanned 3 generations of consoles and was one of the most sought after and played fighting games in the past decade, Capcom had to make this sequel a big one and boy did it deliver. MvC2 pioneered the fighting genre as it stands today and seeks to throw in a few crossups with it’s newest iteration of the game.

It has certainly been a great year for Nintendo platformers. The release and success of games such as Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and Kirby’s Epic Yarn have all reminded many gamers why the platforming genre is still in full-force (even if it has taken a bit of a backseat to other genres like first-person shooters and RPGs). Now, in the midst of the conclusion of 2010, Nintendo hasn’t forgotten about one of its earliest icons: Donkey Kong. The great big ape hasn’t had a solid platforming experience since the final days of the Super Nintendo, so it seemed obvious to allow a developer such as Retro Studios tackle a daunting, yet nostalgic task.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is not a remake by any means, but a continuation of what Rare first established 16 years ago on the Super Nintendo. Diddy, Cranky, Rambi and even Squawks are popular characters from the Super NES original that return, yet you may ask, “What has Retro done to make this new Donkey Kong title stand out?” Well, simply put, Retro Studios may not give gamers and DK fans alike the same innovation that they did with Metroid Prime, but they have carefully weaved together a satisfying albeit challenging experience.

I couldn't have been more excited for the middle two weeks of October. Two sequels to two of my favorite games came out, one of which being Fallout New Vegas, and boy did Bethesda not disappoint with this one.

The game starts just as Fallout 3 did, Ron Perlman coming out and waxing poetic on how war never changes. And I'm glad that it doesn't because we wouldn't have such good sequels like New Vegas if there wasn't any war.

I can't tell you how many times I went around telling people to forget about the incumbent FPS franchise Call of Duty and pushed Medal of Honor on all of them. And now that the game is out, I see why Call of Duty is the incumbent.